I'm not an "expert" on collecting children's books -- just someone with a hobby.
This is a place for discussing older children's books, as well as sharing info and opinions on new books that might become collectable in the years ahead.

Thursday, August 21, 2008

Off With Their Heads

It all started with the Headless Horseman.

Since Washington Irving introduced that immortal character in his classic 1820 story "The Legend of Sleepy Hollow," literary heads have been popping off hither and yon.

Even children's books haven't been immune. Who can forget THE MAN WHO LOST HIS HEAD, written by Clare Huchet Bishop and memorably illustrated by Robert McCloskey? Then there's Carolyn Sherwin Bailey's MISS HICKORY, who lost her head but won the Newbery in 1947. A few decades later Zilpha Keatley Snyder got a Newbery Honor for THE HEADLESS CUPID. The Harry Potter series features the character "Nearly Headless Nick" and the heads just keep onnnnnn rolling. In fact, these days it appears that every other character in children's fiction is headless -- and I'm not even counting Kathryn Lasky's entry in the "Royal Diaries" series about Marie Antoinette.

Don't believe me?

Just go to any library or bookstore and look at their display of recent kids' books. In fact, since gas is so expensive these days, I'll save you a trip to the library and provide a few examples here:

FIRST BOY is the profound story of a young man who may have lost his head, but refuses tolose his spirit. Every morning this plucky kid puts on his tie and overalls (in addition to lacking a head, he also lacksfashion sense) and goes off to school.Nothing is going to stop him from learningand getting a head in life!

Pity the poor heroine of HOW TO RUIN A SUMMER VACATION. Waiting till the last minute to pack, she forgets to takeher head along on what was supposedto be a "fun in the sun" vacation.(How many times did her mother warn her, "You'd forget your head if it wasn't attached"? Why oh why didn't she listento Mom?) A great book for mindless beachreading!

Another entry in the ever-increasing"headless chicklit" genre, this young adultnovel concerns a scatter-brained teen who, some time between having an afterschool latte at Starbucks and coming home to IM her BFF, discovers that her head is missing! Enlisting the help of the hunky "surfer next door," the protagonist goes off on a scavenger hunt and learns that "sometimes you have to lose your head to find true love."

The thing about Georgie...is that he has no head! Family and friends try to humorthe oblivious protagonist("Yes, it's a lovely hat,"said Mom, "but wouldn't it lookbetter if...you had a head?") Finally, a family crisis makesGeorgie realize he must grow upand "face" the future.

Karlene may be at the head of her class, but how will a headless girl fare at the annual county spelling bee? Thefeisty heroine dons her late Grandpa Joe's pair of cowboy boots, wowing the judges with her sense of style and spelling her way to s-u-c-c-e-s-s, as she learns that anything is possible if you've got pluck, sass, spirit, and the ability to accessorize.

The teenage years are nevereasy...particularly if you lack anything above the neck. The hero of this powerful novel learns it's a lonely world for the headless, yet if you look around, listen to others, and speak up for yourself (if only you COULD look around, listen to others, and speak up for yourself) you will succeed. ...Though it may require the patience of a saint!

At last! A romance novelabout the headless! In this engaging love storytwo teens learn that having a head isn't all it's cracked up to be. Not when you've goteach other! "Watch what happens"when these two fall head overheels in love!

A group of teenagers convergeon a small Tennesse town to rebuild a house that was destroyed in a tornado. By the time the summer is over, the house will be completely built -- but several of the young adults will have lost their heads. This novel is a testament to the importance of volunteer work...and the dangers of untrained teens using power tools.

A little girl guides her headless father through a day of fun! This touching book will evoke both smiles and tears as young Trixie learns, "My daddy may not have a head, but at least he has a hand to hold." A family classic to be shared again and again!

He will do anything to win the swimmeet. ANYTHING. He'll get up at six a.m. He'll swim laps for hours. He'll wear an aerodynamic swim leotard. Anything...anything to be "Quicker, lighter, faster." But what if the only way to increase his speed and lower his body weight is to surgically remove his head? Will he make the ultimate sacrifice? And how does one shout "Stotan!" without a head?

4 comments:

Peter, thank you for this hilarious post. The headless wonders have been driving me nuts for years now. For a time I collected them, but there were too many to keep track of. I'd love to hear from a publisher or two about this: why do they think such covers sell books?

About Me

I've been involved with children's books most of my life, from my earliest days working in the grade school library to my current job cataloging children's books for a university. I've published young adult fiction, as well as thousands of book reviews, and have contributed articles and essays to a number of magazines and reference volumes dealing with the topic of children's books. To see the books in my collection, please visit librarything.com/catalog/Psierut
and click on "author" to get an alphabetical-by-author view. I can be reached at Newbery13@aol.com